Change of Name from Oasis to MasterPsych

Just last week, we changed the name of the Oasis Conference back to its prior name, the MasterPsych Conference. Here, I explain our reasoning.

First, allow me to point out that the Oasis/MasterPsych Conference approach, including the type of educational content presented, all the fun activities that are included, and the beautiful settings in which the conference takes place, all remain the same. It is only the name that reverts from Oasis back to MasterPsych. The Oasis soul of the conference lives on!

These psychiatry conferences we’ve held under the MasterPsych and Oasis names have been ongoing since 2011. I would characterize them at their start as standard psychiatry conferences that were done well. Over those initial years, our editorial guidelines kept evolving into what became the fully formed MasterPsych Educational Approach.

The MasterPsych Educational Approach

The MasterPsych Educational Approach (MPEA) prioritizes the following features of the conference presentations:

• Master Level Information: The MPEA focuses on updated and detailed content that is appropriate to seasoned clinicians, those who’ve seen thousands or tens of thousands of patients in their careers and are looking for that ‘edge.’
• Practical Information / Actionable Guidance: The MPEA focuses on providing actionable information for clinicians. Although it provides information on supporting research and clinical guidelines, it doesn’t get lost in research details, as would be appropriate for researchers instead of clinicians. It includes case vignettes and clinical conundrums to reflect the situations clinicians face in their practices. And, last, the MPA provides plenty of Q&A time since that is when participants can ensure conundrums from their practices can be discussed.
• Deep Dives into Clinical Conundrums: The MPEA realizes that some clinical conundrums relate not merely to ineffective treatment responses but also to missed, misdiagnosed, or incomplete assessments. Thus, the MasterPsych Conference focuses on varied presentations of common and uncommon disorders, details of diagnostic work-ups, and management considered broadly. There is a heavy emphasis on medication choice and management, of course, but also on complicating factors, such as poor adherence, family interference, difficult patient interactions, suicide and homicide, and other risks, and many other factors.

This MasterPsych Educational Approach has continued throughout the life of this psychiatry conference. However, starting around 2018, I noticed, first, that many psychiatrists and other clinicians working in mental health were suffering from chronic work stress and/or unhappiness, and second, as became clear from our surveys and my personal discussions, that much of this stress was not related to direct patient care, but to job- and career-related problems. And, it was this realization that led us to rename the conference to the Oasis Conference. I hoped this would highlight the clinician-focused concern of this conference.

I saw that many clinicians were not well-treated – not by patients and their families, not by administrators, and not by insurance companies and regulatory bodies. Also, many of us were not trained to take care of ourselves and were not provided with the knowledge of how to handle our careers. I heard many horror stories from my fellow psychiatrists of bad contracts signed, billing mistakes that cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, and other financial and legal mistakes made.

The Oasis Wellness Approach

The Oasis Wellness Approach was born under the Oasis name and now continues as strong as ever, under the return to the MasterPsych Conference name. The Oasis Wellness Approach includes the following:

• Well-Being and Burnout Avoidance: Stress is at epidemic proportions. In a recent survey, half of conference attendees endorsed high to severe stress, with one in five endorsing stress so severe that they wanted to leave the profession asap. I present formal lectures highlighting practical and proven approaches for increasing well-being and decreasing stress. The MasterPsych Conference also includes a live guided imagery session to clarify what it is that each participant wants most for themselves. Additionally, the MasterPsych Conference includes ice-breaker group activities, kid-focused activities, and – always – a beautiful, beachside setting. Taking a 5- to 10-mile walk alone on a beach is sometimes the best way to let all this learning and reflection fall into place.
• Clinic / Unit Management: Much clinician stress is born of poorly run clinics, units, centers, departments, or what have you. Some are chaotic, inefficient, and ineffective. Some go beyond garden-level incompetence and are simply dangerous for all involved. The MasterPsych Conference includes presentations on how clinics and units can be run well. This is useful not only for clinician-administrators but also for every clinician interested in weighing whether they should continue working in such a place. These presentations empower clinicians to weigh in and advise on the well-running of the place of employment. Failing improvement, the clinician can look for other work with a clear conscience of having done all they could to remedy a bad situation.
• Long-Term Career Self-Management: Careers can (and should) evolve over the years and decades of a clinician’s work life. I present various models of career progression and career options to serve as food for thought and further consideration for clinicians. In the context of a clinician shortage, mental health clinicians have the initiative in how to structure a sustainable, value-aligned, joy-affirming career.
• Financial Security, Early Retirement, Alternative Career Options: After years of providing clinical care, many clinicians want to branch out, switch careers, or retire early. Of course, these considerations involve financial planning as well as reflections on one’s life goals and guiding values. I lead presentations and discussions on various options, highlighting ‘mine-fields’ and opportunities.

So, these are the two sides of the MasterPsych Conference. We’ve maintained the original MasterPsych Educational Approach as well as the more recent Oasis Wellness Approach.

We changed the name back to MasterPsych because “Oasis” left many people unclear about what exactly this conference was about. Conference attendees love the Oasis content and approach, but many admitted the name had been confusing. So, we kept these two complementary approaches and have returned to a more immediately graspable name – MasterPsych – which connotes mastery of psychiatry.

That’s our history.

The Next Step Is Yours

With that, I now invite you to join us for the MasterPsych Conference. It is unique. You get from it what you will not get anywhere else.

Does this sound too good to be true? Can a psychiatry conference change your life?

Why not find out?

Every MasterPsych Conference includes a full money-back guarantee that’s available throughout the entirety of the conference. We don’t want to keep anyone’s money who does not greatly benefit from the MasterPsych Conference (or from any of our other offerings). That would be no way to live!

Take a chance – join us! Your career and well-being may depend on it.